


Not Lost-Just Reborn

by DreamHero



Series: Legend of Zelda Stories [5]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Introspection, Legend (Linked Universe) - POV, Legend (Linked Universe)-centric, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Magic, Magic Revealed, Magic Vaguely Explained, Misunderstandings, Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Protective Legend (Linked Universe), Team Feels, Team as Family, Wild (Linked Universe) Angst, Wild (Linked Universe)-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:41:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26989177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamHero/pseuds/DreamHero
Summary: Wild is an enigma even among a group of his past selves. He brings endless knowledge of a time so far from any of their own, a time of destruction, ruin, and loss. The other Heroes never thought that loss would stretch to Wild's people having completely forgotten the ways of magic too.Legend decides he's tired of watching everyone dance around Wild, and he's going to fix the problem at its root. But never in his wildest dreams did he expect what he finds when he confronts Wild.
Relationships: Four & Hyrule & Legend & Sky & Time & Twilight & Warriors & Wild & Wind (Linked Universe), Legend & Wild (Linked Universe), Wild (Linked Universe) & Everyone
Series: Legend of Zelda Stories [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1957054
Comments: 19
Kudos: 591





	Not Lost-Just Reborn

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This is written for the Lovely L for winning my little guessing game. 
> 
> I know its not exactly what you wanted, but this one-shot wrote itself. Consider this the 'Legend and Wild bonding' part of the prompt! I'll do another work later about songs more specifically. 
> 
> Anyway! Hope you guys enjoy! :)

Out of all of the surprises, Wild’s arrival brought the group, from his lack of voice, to his cooking skills, to his ability to break literally anything. Nothing shocked the fellow Links as deeply as the realization Wild was from a world that just didn’t have magic. Legend and Wild had fought upon the confession. Legend could feel, could sense the magic lingering around Wild, he had to have magic, his world had to have magic. But when Wild showed his ‘magic’ Legend and the others realized with dawning horror that Wild was right. He wasn’t magic despite being so surrounded by its essence that he glowed to those gifted with the sight. He wasn’t magic, nor was his world. Wild explained how many things had been lost in his world due to the Calamity, how some had been reclaimed, but many were gone forever. Magic was something lost to his world even before Ganon struck. 

Legend doesn’t think the other’s realized just how far losing magic would stretch, knows they can’t comprehend why he rages, and has to hold his tears back by sheer force of will as the others stare at him like he’s gone mad. The worst part of it all is how Wild hangs his head like it's his fault. Like he’s responsible for the world he was born into. Legend just gets impossibly angry and storms into the night.

The others glare and tell him to calm down. To apologize. And Legend isn’t mad at Wild, but pretending to be mad at Wild keeps the others from asking about what’s really wrong. Keeps them from asking about the circle of thoughts that never leave him alone. But Time sends him looks like he knows and it only drives Legend further up the wall, and further away from the others and their judgmental stares.

Legend’s paranoia came true at the end of a, particularly rough fight. Everyone was fairly alright, but Wild’s arm was bleeding pretty bad. Hyrule was already busy fixing Twilight’s leg, so Four rushed over and shoved a healing potion in Wild’s hand. Wild just stared at it. Four took it back and went to pour it down his throat himself, only to have Wild freak out and back away. Confusion written clear across his face. Four dropped the bottle with a loud shattering noise as he realized Wild didn’t know what a healing potion was.

Everyone stopped glaring at Legend, and the others tried to quiz Wild on topics and facts. Trying to find where his knowledge of the past ended. It was a sad evening full of hysteria and Wild shaking his head no, a distant apologetic sad look in his eyes as the others just grew more and more stressed. 

No one spoke the following day.

Legend knew what they were thinking. It was the same things he had been thinking since they meet the boy. Wild was the newest in the timeline, his world was there’s. Thousands of years separated them, but Wild’s world was their destiny. A world that had lost so much. Magic was gone, its practice long forgotten. Wild didn’t know the songs that the others would use to aid them in battle, did not know how to see the weave of magic, and Wild had to ask them what the Triforce was the first time they spoke of it. A Hero of Hylia not knowing he has the Triforce of Courage!? 

But he had lost other things too, Wild was baffled the first time they went fishing together, never having seen a fishing rod, hook-shots were a completely foreign device to Wild, and Wild was so used to assassins lingering in every corner of his world he didn’t even trust his own people anymore. _What else had his world lost? What would they lose? What had they done to cause Wild to live in such a world of destruction and carnage? How badly had they failed?_

It was that night when a last-ditch attempt of trying to find some common ground, of finding something that connected their worlds, drove the other heroes forward again. It was the most Legend had heard the other heroes talk about themselves and their adventures. They were regaling Wild with their stories, their pasts, trying in vain to see if Wild remembered any of them. If his world had any record of them even existing. Wild listened thoughtfully, but Legend could see the dual hollowness of his eyes, and that was all the answer he needed. He didn’t need to see the Hero of the Wilds shake his head to know he didn’t know any of them. That Wild’s Hyrule had even forgotten them.

The group is unsteady after. Wild gets even more quiet. Legend didn’t think it was possible, but somehow yes, Wild could get even quieter, and often the group actually forgot he was there or would skip him over during headcounts. Wild never seemed bothered and slowly the group eased, and the new normal was 8 heroes and a shadow. Legend hated it.

Wild wasn’t the problem, he was the result. And they were all too big of cowards to admit it. They were Heroes of Courage. But they couldn’t look the hero they had failed in the eye. And so Wild pulled himself away so that the other’s fragile stupid feelings wouldn’t be hurt. Legend wanted to punch them all in the face, hard.

“Wild,” he snapped standing up from camp and turning to the woods. He waited a moment, and as though he had always been standing there Wild was suddenly by his elbow tilting his head up at him, endless blue eyes curious. “I’m going to get firewood and stuff for diner, as the cook come with me.”

“Hey Legend I don’t think-,” Four starts, a thread of concern leaking in before he snaps him off.

“We will be back in time for food, chill shorty,” Legend stalks into the woods that surround them with a frown tugging at his lips, “come on Wild.”

He doesn’t hear Wild follow, but he can feel the other’s presence behind him, and he knows he can only do that because Wild is letting him. Legend has to admit the kid is the best stealth agent among them and he’s really happy he’s friendly (mostly). 

Legend passes several wild batches of mushrooms and perfectly sized sticks for firewood. He feels Wild’s confused eyes bore into him, but Wild doesn’t stop to pick any of them up (which he knows is a feat, the kid is as much a hoarder as the others claim he is). Legend stops only when he reaches the small grove he found on watch a few nights ago.

It’s an untouched piece of wildlife, Legend knew Wild would appreciate. With a gentle babbling brook, and large hanging willow trees and wildflowers. It's exactly the kind of place Wild just naturally seeks out. He looks behind him and sure enough Wild is glancing around the clearing with wide happy eyes. He rushes over to the large willow tree that sits on the bank of the river. He gently runs his hand over the bark and closes his eyes for a moment, his ears twitching upward like he’s listening.

Standing under the willow, with his golden hair flowing behind him, with the gentle smile on his face Legend understands why he’s the Hero of the Wilds. He looks like he truly belongs here. Legend almost feels bad interrupting him as he strolls over and takes a seat at the base of the tree. 

Wild glances down at him with a happy smile and a quick gesture for ‘thank you’. Legend just nods back and watches as Wild takes his seat next to him, leaning his back against the tree, letting out a quiet hum. 

“I just…,” Legend starts not sure how to progress now that he has Wild alone. He just got so annoyed with the others, but this is harder than he imagined. Wild turns to face him, but busies his hands by touching all the wildflowers and blades of grass he can reach. Legend is almost tempted to laugh. They have been in the woods for days and Wild gets so excited about some little flowers and trees. 

Legend blinks. 

He blinks again.

He blinks a third time just to make sure.

Wild’s attention has shifted off of him, once he didn’t continue speaking. His impossibly blue eyes are watching his hands trace the flowers. The flowers that weren’t in bloom when they arrived, but are now. Legend doesn’t know what’s happening. Did they stumble upon some fairies lair? No, Legend would sense that. Wild has a huge magic signature but he would notice fairies. He’s not-

Legend focuses back on Wild as his breath catches. It’s faint, so impossibly faint in the blinding light of the magic surrounding Wild like a cocoon, but there. Wild is casting magic. So small and low level it’s no wonder no one has noticed. Legend looks back at the flowers whose petals are open and facing Wild like he’s the sun, to his soft smile, to the sparkle in his eyes that looks like stars and oh-oh.

Legend feels the tears before he realizes his control has slipped. Wild turns in surprise to face him, confusion and worry written across his face clearer than any words could ever be. As he turns to face him the flowers ever so slowly start to close once again. Legend doesn’t care how stupid he looks anymore. Wild’s world isn’t dead. Magic is still alive. It’s just so different, so much different.

“Thank you,” Legend says, grabbing Wild’s hands and staring a confused Wild in the eyes that glitter with a magic Legend and the others had been too blind to see, “thank you so much Wild.”

Wild shakes his head in confusion and makes one of his signature noises, startled and confused. Eyes wide and lost, mouth moving to form words he can never speak. Legend doesn’t care, he’s so endlessly grateful. Wild had brought them despair, but he brought them hope too. He was the next hero. The newest in the timeline. From a world of destruction and chaos that would one day be the results of their actions. A world they thought that had lost everything. But in truth, it didn’t lose anything too important.

And as Wild pulls his hands away and pulls Legend into a hug he doesn’t resist, he can feel the magic. So strong, overwhelmingly powerful, and endlessly warm. Wild makes no noise, can sing no songs to channel the weave of magic, can utter no spell to conjure his will, but power wraps around his hands and flows into Legend like a rushing river. A familiar song of healing repeats in his ears as the magic attempts to heal a wound of heart and not of the flesh. Wild’s world didn’t lose anything, it was different, yes, but it was never dead. It took what they had created and refined, and just like Wild himself, was born anew.

**Author's Note:**

> A little different from my usual stuff, but sometimes it's fun to branch out! (sorry its a bit on the short side)
> 
> Leave a Comment or a Kudos if you guys want! (I do love them so)
> 
> See all you amazing people in the next story! :)


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